Polyamory: the Network model

No two relationships are exactly alike, this is as true for Poly people as it is for our monogamous counterparts. So I would like to sit down and write about the different poly models I've encountered through first hand conversations within the poly community. As the different poly styles are included, some of the language may become clunky over time and need to be altered for one reason or another. As of now let's start with the foundation. (Note that these may vary from case to case, as I've said before and this shouldn't be taken as black and white analysis for these types of relationships as a whole and in some cases I'm just naming these things as I go along, people who study us for a living and even other poly people have their own terms for things) I may also use Sense8 as a cultural bridge for the uninitiated.

The Network model is the linking of different individuals or groups of poly participants as a loose set of relationships. Like "I think we should see other people." but not in the breakup sense, like you literally see other people, when monogamous people do this it's just called dating, in the non-exclusive sense. The network model is perfect for poly people who don't want to be tied down to a set location or relationship (will cover this in a future post about Poly Pockets). In sense8 each cluster is connected in it's own closed network but for instance Lila and Wolfgang have their connection, and the have their visits, even though she is from an outside cluster, but no one else in his cluster is connected to her. The network model CAN work in tandem with a Polypocket but isn't restricted by those conditions. Free agent sounds cheesy but the freedom of movement among partners more closely resembles a monogamous open relationship, the difference, I find, is that unlike monogamous dating relationships, these are not auditions or probationary relationships for future longevity by process of elimination.